Is It Feasible to Build an LCD Projector at Home?

The working principle of an LCD projector is just like the vintage toy projectors. In the case of a vintage toy projector, there is a light source (that used to be a vintage incandescent bulb) behind and a focusing lens in front. The slide/film was inserted in a slot in between these two elements. These projectors were great in the era when the chance of custom recording was limited to still photography. Indeed, if we hold a magnifying lens opposite to the wall of a bright window, we will see an inverted image of the window. Projectors work simply on the principles of optics. Simple yet delivering us fun since the 1500s. The phrase “magic lantern” is still used today as it was used in the 1600s.
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The common LCD projectors use an LCD in place film/slide of the vintage toy projectors. The LCD screens we use everyday is itself transparent. They are made visible to us by a white surface behind and a light source. Except for LED and AMOLED, most of the displays we use are some form of an LCD screen. IPS, VA are microscopic technologies. So, building a basic LCD projector at home is easy. It is simply a modernized version of “magic lantern”. The explanation explains why we see budget projectors at $100 at Amazon.

But we are talking about the advanced DIY projectors. Like in the below video :

The work in the video is immensely valuable in the world of “DIY development”. Except for the Sony smartphone, you’ll easily all the components quite easily in most countries just by Google search – GT2 timing belt, threaded screw, Fresnel lens etc are easy to gather. Lenses are easily available on Amazon like sites because they are used in schools, labs, solar ovens etc.

The basic problems of DIY projectors are a blur at corners and low luminance. The problems are related to

You can easily use LED lights up to 100 watts. An entry-level 4K projector from Mi like brands will cost you $2000, while DIY development will cost you hardly $300. If you hire someone to do the manual work of DIY development for you, that will cost you more. I have seen that few of the $1000 projects do enough good job when the screen is kept under eighty inches.

Is it feasible to build a DIY projector? Probably not for the most. Projectors themselves have limitations and larger televisions are beating with their brightness level. It is better to rent a projector for watching movies while a large screen television is suitable for everyday usage. And just for fun usage, you can purchase projectors spending $500.